1. Technical Field
This invention relates to hand-held barcode scanners and, more particularly, to a hand-held, dual-mode barcode scanner comprising, a hollow case sized and shaped to be held in a user's hand; apparatus for scanning a barcode disposed within the case and having an output outputting a signal representing data contained in a scanned barcode; a supplemental switch disposed within the case manually activatable by a user; and, logic disposed within the case connected to the apparatus for scanning a barcode and the supplemental switch for taking a first action when the supplemental switch is not activated by a user and for taking a second action when the supplemental switch is activated by a user.
2. Background Art
Most barcode scanners in use today are meant to read and decode one dimensional barcodes. A light beam is scanned across the barcode and reflected light as modulated by the light and dark bands of the barcode produces a signal which is then decoded to determine the data encoded into the barcode.
Linear or one dimensional barcodes are limited in the amount of information they can hold by the physical area available. On the side of a railroad boxcar or a large carton, a large barcode can be employed to contain a large amount of data. On the other hand, while the ability to miniaturize linear barcodes has increased, data requirements vis-a-vis the available areas to mark micro-electronic components with barcode-encoded data have virtually mandated a new approach. Thus, there is a rapidly emerging technology in two dimensional barcodes.
A typical prior art two dimensional barcode reader is depicted in simplified form in FIG. 1 where it is generally indicated as 10. The barcode reader 10 has a hand-held case 12 of so-called "pistol-grip" shape containing the components required to scan a two dimensional barcode. There is a lens system 14 which focuses a field of view (not shown) containing a barcode on a charge coupled device (CCD) 16. The CCD is, of course, an element that is commonly used in video cameras. The CCD constantly outputs a signal on line 18 containing the two dimensional pixel data of what is being "seen" by the lens system 14. In the barcode reader 10, the output line 18 is input to the logic 20. There is also a trigger switch 22 which is operated by manually depressing the trigger button 24. The trigger switch 22 is also connected to the logic 20 by line 26. The signal out of the barcode reader 10 appears on line 28 from the logic 20. This is, of course, a greatly simplified depiction and the logic 20, for example, can be structured to completely analyze the output from the CCD 16 or merely pass it on for decoding by other logic connected to line 28.
In use, the barcode reader 10 is pointed at a barcode at its focal point by means not important to the present invention. Then the barcode is in focus, the trigger button 24 is pressed causing the logic 20 to snapshot or freeze the then output data on line 18. That snapshot of data can then be analyzed according to techniques which also form no part of the present invention and, for that reason, will not be addressed in any detail herein in the interest of simplicity and the avoidance of redundancy. According to one aspect of such barcode readers as being developed by the assignee of this application, the logic 20 analyzes the barcodes read to see if it is a data barcode or a reader reprogramming barcode. Thus, there must be uniquely recognizable reprogramming barcodes and the logic 20 must be able to recognize them. By that arrangement, the barcode reader 10 can be reprogrammed to recognize and decode a particular type of barcode from several possibilities by first having it scan a reprogramming barcode associated with the barcode type to be recognized.
In another aspect of such prior art barcode readers, there may be a pattern of actions taken each time that a particular user may wish to avoid as overly time consuming or redundant under particular circumstances. For example, if the hand-held barcode reader 10 is placed in a solid mount at the focal distance from barcodes to be scanned, there is no need for the barcode reader 10 to go through the prescanning process of guiding the user to the focal distance. In such cases, it would be desirable for the user to be able to deactivate that feature from the reader 10.
Wherefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hand-held barcode reader wherein the functions thereof can be modified upon demand by a user.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hand-held barcode reader having a supplemental switch for changing the functions of the reader.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a hand-held barcode reader with a finger-activated primary switch having a supplemental switch that is easily activated by a user's thumb without interfering with the activation of the primary switch.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a light-activated switch which can be incorporated into a hand-held barcode reader so as to be easily activated by a user's thumb blocking and unblocking a path of light thereto.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a light-activated switch which has a tactile feel.
Other objects and benefits of this invention will become apparent from the description which follows hereinafter when read in conjunction with the drawing figures which accompany it.